Unlike most players in the NBA, who have been hooping since they were kids, Joel Embiid began his basketball journey pretty late. Born in Cameroon, he spent the first 16 years of his life in his native land before moving to the USA. While you might think that he had no NBA ties before joining the league, he surprisingly shared a common connection with guard D’Angelo Russell since they were teenagers. Coincidentally landing in the same High School, the Lakers star reminisced about their time together and revealed some embarrassing details about Embiid’s first birthday celebration in America.

While we know him as an elite point guard now, D’Lo was once an aspiring athlete at the Montverde Academy. Making an appearance on the Run Your Race podcast, Russell revealed one of his Montverde teammates that no one expected, “My sophomore year Joel Embiid, he was there.” Yes, after former NBA star and fellow countryman Luc Mbah A Moute noticed Joel at a basketball camp in Africa, Montverde became Embiid’s first stop in America.

However, he was not the dominant seven-footer that we know of today. “Lot of people didn’t know that. He was frail, bro.” D’Lo remarked.

Moreover, the two future stars developed a good relationship and even spent a special occasion together as D’Lo revealed, “I took a picture with him when he was in, it was his 17 birthday, we went to Hooters.” But why was it embarrassing?

Well, for starters, the podcast panel burst out laughing when they found out that the two spent Joel’s birthday at Hooters. On top of that, Russell also revealed that the picture he took of Embiid was not the best as the big man posed awkwardly, making a peace sign with his fingers.

And he was also wearing an unusual outfit, “He had on a Stetson basketball, that was probably one of the few schools that was recruiting at the time. Stetson bro! And he had on a Stetson Nike basketball shirt or something like that.” Obviously, new in the country, Embiid might not have been too familiar with all this at the time.

Joel Embiid didn’t have the best start at Montverde

As D’Lo revealed that he was a High School teammate with Joel, the former MVP had one more familiar face who played for Montverde. It was none other than his future Philly teammate Ben Simmons.

However, while Simmons made the varsity team immediately because he was one of the top prospects, Embiid had to go through some hardships to reach that level. Although Embiid had the frame of a basketball player, his skillset and IQ were not polished enough because of the late introduction to the game. So, he initially began playing JV and worked his way up.

But his natural talent soon took over and Embiid started showing signs of greatness. “When Embiid first practiced with us, he needed a lot of coaching and development. Over time, he started to become a very talented athlete and a foreseeable NBA star,” his Montverde head coach, Kevin Boyle, remarked.

Not too long after, Embiid left Montverde to join the Rock School, and would eventually go on to be selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2014 draft. With so much growth in such little time, it is clear that Embiid was destined to be a superstar in the NBA.

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.